


Mysterious Goings

by queerfave



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Nonbinary Jehan, Surprise Ending, Suspicions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 10:30:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11146602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerfave/pseuds/queerfave
Summary: Combeferre is suspicious of Jehan's boyfriend.





	Mysterious Goings

**Author's Note:**

> Based upon a requested prompt from Tumblr:  
> "Prompt: Combeferre going to Montparansse's apartment for whatever reason, and keeping calm at first but slowly getting more and more unnerved the more he notices."

Combeferre sighs as he reaches the sixth floor of the apartment building. He treks down the hallway until he reaches the door that he is sure belongs to Montparnasse. He doesn’t even have to check the room number- there’s a sign on the door that has “Do not disturb under any circumstance” written in neat, but ominous, handwriting.

 _I can’t believe Jehan’s dating this guy,_ Combeferre thinks.

He knocks on the door gently. Taking a step back, he plasters the best smile on his face as the door swings open and he comes face-to-face with Montparnasse for the first time. He is hit with the strong smell of fancy cologne as the aroma leaks out the door into the hallway, and he coughs a few times.

Jehan’s descriptions of their boyfriend were, for the most part, accurate. Montparnasse was, objectively, very _pretty_. He was dressed in all black and appeared as if he was a zombie, with zero expression in his eyes. His mouth was slightly curled at the end to form a frown, and he apparently did not enjoy waking up this early.

“What do you want?” Montparnasse asks, in a deadpan tone that seemed to match his eyes perfectly.

 _I seriously cannot believe that Jehan is dating this guy,_ Combeferre mentally exclaimed.

“I’m here for Jehan,” Combeferre states plainly. The smile was becoming hard to fake. “Did he not tell you that I was arriving?”

“They said the late morning,” Montparnasse continues.

“It is the late morning,” Combeferre protests.

“9:30 in the morning is not late,” Montparnasse continues, turning back into his apartment. “Late morning is 11.”

“I disagree,” Combeferre replies. Montparnasse doesn’t respond for a few seconds, then turns his head.

“Are you going to come in, or are you just going to stay there?” Montparnasse demands. Combeferre blinks and takes a step into the apartment. As he looks around, he decides that he really doesn’t think that Montparnasse and Jehan are a good match. The apartment is decorated with silver and black, completely contrasting to Jehan’s bright, mismatched style. Montparnasse hands Combeferre a cup of coffee.

“Drink,” he orders. Combeferre reluctantly takes a sip as Jehan bounds out of what Combeferre assumes to be the bedroom. Their usual mismatched style is particularly flamboyant, with a sheer, blue and yellow flower-print blouse covering a horizontally-striped green and purple t-shirt, and a pair of houndstooth green and black pants. Their long hair was tied back in a french braid, mismatched with pins and clips of every shape and colour Combeferre could imagine. They cheerfully grab the third cup of coffee and kisses Montparnasse on the cheek.

“Hey, Ferre! You’re a bit early!” Jehan exclaims.

“It’s already 9:30,” Combeferre nods, glancing at his watch.

“I thought I said late morning, not mid-morning,” Jehan mumbles. “Whatever. Let me grab my bag, and then we can leave.”

“Remind me why I have to pick you up again?” Combeferre asks.

“My car is in the shop until tomorrow. Plus, I just thought it might be nice if you met Montparnasse!” Jehan smiles widely and flings their arms around their boyfriend. The corner of Montparnasse’s mouth twitches in response, forming a slight smile. Combeferre lays down the coffee cup and gestures Jehan towards the door.

“Yeah, but why me?”

“Your apartment is closest. It would be too much of a bother to have anyone else drive to the other end of town to pick me up.” Jehan replies.

“Thank you for your hospitality. We should be going,” Combeferre says as politely as he can. Jehan grabs their bag, a disaster of neon pink plaid fabric that Jehan had created after watching a DIY video on youtube, and heads towards the door, kissing Montparnasse once more. Montparnasse tucks a stray hair behind Jehan’s ear, and Jehan and Combeferre leave the apartment. The door closes shut behind them.

Combeferre finds himself letting out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. Montparnasse unnerved him, and he didn’t think it was the strong cologne or the fact that he was dressed all in black.

 _I don’t like him,_ Combeferre decided. _But, I don’t have to. He’s making Jehan very happy, and that’s all that matters._

 

Jehan picks at their nails as they lounge on Courfeyrac’s couch, effectively annoying Marius. They have changed into another outfit, and are wearing a flowered poncho overtop of a lime green-and-pink shirt, and a pair or red track pants. Their socks are a lovely shade of vibrant purple.

“Remind me, why are you staying here again?” Marius demands, upset that he was pushed off the couch.

“Courf offered,” Jehan replies simply. “I’ll be out next week.”

“Can’t believe your building actually flooded,” Marius grumbles. “Another person here. We already have Ferre over constantly with Courf, and now you’re here. I don’t get a moment of peace.”

“Then kick out Ferre. Even better, move in with your girlfriends.”

“And ruin their ‘girls nights’? They wouldn’t be too happy with me,” Marius complains.

Jehan rummages in their bag before sighing with a loud groan.

“What is it?” Marius demands.

“I forgot my nail file at Montparnasse’s apartment.”

“Combeferre can go get it,” Courfeyrac volunteers.

“I can?” Combeferre replies.

“Yeah! Weren’t you heading back to your apartment anyway to grab a few books? You can swing by Montparnasse’s apartment and pick up Jehan’s nail file.”

Combeferre sighs. He knows that he doesn’t have a choice, but he isn’t looking forward to seeing Jehan’s eerie boyfriend again, or smelling his strong cologne.

“Alright, I can get it,” Combeferre agrees. Jehan smiles widely.

“Thanks, Ferre!” They exclaim.

 

Combeferre rolls his eyes as he reaches Montparnasse’s apartment. He raps on the door quicly, and he hears a crash inside the apartment, followed by the opening of the door.

“You,” Montparnasse says simply.

“Jehan forgot their nail file,” Combeferre states plainly. “I’m here to pick it up.”

“Come in,” Montparnasse replies. Combeferre follows Montparnasse into the living room for the second time that day.

“I saw the nail file in the office,” Montparnasse tells Combeferre, gesturing towards a door.

“Great. I’ll get it,” Combeferre glances towards the door and reaches towards the handle.

Quick as lightning, Montparnasse’s hand shoots out and grabs Combeferre’s wrist.

“No.”

“No?”

“I will retrieve the nail file. You will stay here and touch nothing,” Montparnasse declares. Combeferre shifts from one foot to another as Montparnasse slips into the office and leaves him alone. Combeferre glances around the apartment. The atmosphere is eerie to say the least, and there is barely a speck of colour to be seen. There is a door that is slightly ajar, and Combeferre shifts again to peer inside. His breath hitches as he sees several large, black bags that are stacked upon a counter.

Montparnasse returns from the room as silently as he entered, holding Jehan’s flower-print nail file in one hand. The colours seemed immensely out of place in the dreary apartment.

“What are you staring at?” Montparnasse snaps.

“Un, the black bags-”

“Out. Now. I want you gone,” Montparnasse orders, his gaze narrowing. Combeferre quickly takes the nail file in his hand and shuffles out of the apartment. As the door slams closed behind him, he sighs with relief. However, he can’t keep his mind off those black bags as he drives back to Courfeyrac’s apartment.

 

“Hey, I have your nail file,” Combeferre calls as he enters his boyfriend’s apartment.

“Oh, thank god!” Jehan exclaims. They walk over to Combeferre and grab their nail file. “You are a life-saver.”

“Glad to know my efforts are appreciated,” Combeferre mutters sarcastically. He makes himself a cup of coffee as his head continues to swim. What is in those black bags?

“Hey, Jehan. What’s in Montparnasse’s office?” He asks, testing the water.

“Uh, nothing unusual. A desk, with a computer. Bookcases. A file cabinet.”

“What type of books were on the bookcase?”

“The Lord of the Rings, Catcher in the Rye, The Giver … a lot of 20th century literature.”

“And the file cabinets?”

“He wouldn’t let me touch those. Didn’t question why. Not my business.”

“Why were you in the office in the first place?”

"It had the best lighting. Montparnasse let me do his nails,” Jehan replies. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Combeferre lies. Jehan raises their eyebrow. “No reason at all.”

Jehan lowers their gaze. “Fair enough.”

 

Combeferre snips a branch off the plant as he inspects the leaves. It looks healthy to him, but he can’t be sure. He wants to take the snippet back to his apartment for testing. He is about to leave when his gaze is caught by a large motion of black. He turns his head and quickly ducks to watch the scenario.

Montparnasse is there, his back facing Combeferre, deep in an argument with another, shorter man, also dressed in black. Montparnasse shouts at the smaller man, who replies with something that obviously upset him. Montparnasse pushes the other man up against a wall, and shouts some angry words. Combeferre crouches closer to hear the conversation.

“If the shipment doesn’t come in, I swear to god, I will hunt down the provider myself,” Montparnasse exclaims.

“I don’t control the shipments! We have to keep stuff like this on the down-low,” the other man explains. “We have to bypass security to get the shipment to you. It’ll be here in a few days, I promise!”

“It better be,” Montparnasse snaps, leaving the other man shocked and scared. Combeferre quickly sneaks off in the other direction, trying to process what he has just heard.

 

“Jehan, have you ever seen Montparnasse do anything … mysterious?” Combeferre questions.

“Not that I can really think of,” they reply. “What is with your fascination with my boyfriend?”

“It’s not a fascination. I’m just curious,” Combeferre defends. “Has he ever shown you what is in those black bags in the room across from the office?”

“In his pantry? I’ve never been inside his pantry, and frankly, it’s not my business. Neither is it yours,” Jehan exclaims.

“Courf, Marius, can you leave us alone for a minute?” Combeferre asks. Marius and Courfeyrac quickly leave the room for the other two to talk.

“Look, I think that Montparnasse is doing something … illegal.”

“Why do you think that?”

“When I arrived yesterday, to grab your nail file, he wouldn’t let me into his office. When I noticed several large black bags in his pantry, he kicked me out rather urgently. Yesterday I saw him in a fight with another man over some sort of shipment that has to get past a level of security. I don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s trying to be very secretive about it, which worries me.”

“I don’t doubt my boyfriend at all. He’s very secretive. It took me time to get used to his demeanor. He’s trying to stop stealing, and I believe him,” Jehan replies. “Stop worrying about it.”

 

Combeferre is inspecting the leaves of a plant when he is tapped on the shoulder. He turns to face Montparnasse, unsurprised. He could smell the cologne.

“Jehan told me you think I’m doing something illegal,” Montparnasse states. A fact.

“Did they now?” Combeferre feigns innocence.

“They did. I’m not. I stopped crime for them.”

“So what is up with the mysterious activity?”

Montparnasse sighs. “I’m throwing Jehan a birthday party in a few weeks.”

Combeferre is confused. The events don’t add up.

“Why wouldn’t you let me into your office?”

“I was working on birthday invitations.”

“Your pantry?”

“Those bags were filled with decorations.”

“What about the shipment?” Combeferre asks in disbelief.

“I’m having lilies shipped in. I have to keep it a secret because the provider isn’t supposed to be growing those flowers.”

“So it is illegal!” Combeferre exclaims.

“Not technically. The flowers aren't illegal, they're just ... rare. Anyway, it's for Jehan.”

Combeferre shakes his head. “Look, I’m sorry, if that’s what you want to hear.”

“It wasn’t my intention, but it is quite nice,” Montparnasse gives a sly smile.

“So why hide your intentions?” Combeferre demands.

“It’s a secret, obviously.”

Combeferre turns to leave with his plant samples. Montparnasse grabs him by the shoulder.

“You accuse me of crime in front of Jehan again, and I won’t be so lenient.” Montparnasse releases Combeferre’s shoulder and parts, leaving Combeferre both confused and slightly scared of Jehan’s boyfriend.

**Author's Note:**

> I am on Tumblr as https://soft-grantaire.tumblr.com/
> 
> Montparnasse was partly based off Rosa from B99 and how I imagine his personality from fanart I have seen.   
> Thanks to my friend Katy for brainstorming Jehan's terrible clothing choices.


End file.
